The AP reports (via Fox), “A measure approved by the North Dakota House gives a fertilized human egg the legal rights of a human being…”
Those who thought the resounding defeat of a similar measure in Colorado would put an end to such nonsense were overly optimistic. Those driven by faith-based politics will keep pushing their agenda, no matter what, regardless or political or ideological failure.
As Diana Hsieh and I have written, a fertilized egg is not a person. And nobody has every offered any sort of reasonable argument as to why it should be considered a person. But the bill in North Dakota is not about reason. It is about the alleged commandments of God.
Well, in regards to saying their is no reason behind saying that a fertilized egg is a person I have to say the burden of proof actually is upon those who say it isn’t.
1. One cannot name a single human person that was not at one point in the stage of being a fertilized egg. Thus, it is a necessary condition for a new person to be formed.
2. The potentiality of a fertilized egg is of an active type. That is to say a fertilized egg will become a newborn by natural processes that will only stop if impeded upon. Many things such as piles of lumber, an acorn or bags of unmixed cement have a passive potientiality to become say a house, tree and sidewalk respectively, however, there are many intermediary steps to fulfill that potential. An acorn does not become a tree unless it has been planted or plants itself and gets the necessary water and soil it needs. On the otherhand, the work is done in a fertilized egg that has implanted itself, it will only stop becoming a full grown human if artificial roadblocks(abortion, RU-486) or natural ones (miscarriage) are thrown down to stop it.
3. Thus, it is my argument that it is necessary to have a fertilized egg to have a person. And sufficient, by means of active potentiality to reach full term and birth and the nature of pregnancy being life sustaining without further action beyond impregnation, then it is by the very nature of a human person to begin at conception and that the fertilized egg stage, zygote stage, embryonic stage and everything up to birth of a child. Intrinsic in our nature as human persons is all these stages
1. One cannot name a single human corpse that was not at one point in the stage of being a fertilized egg. Is a fertilized egg therefore a corpse? If you burn a log, you produce smoke. Is a log therefore smoke?
2. In fact, most fertilized eggs die by natural causes. A fertilized egg must be implanted in the uterus to grow into a newborn. A fertilized egg is a potential person. Granted. A potential is not an actual.
3. Fertilization is necessary but certainly not sufficient for the creation of a person. Again, you grant that a fertilized egg is a potential person.
I linked to the paper I coauthored for a reason. If you can’t be bothered to respond to the arguments there, you’re simply not engaging the debate.